Chapter One

 

Tommy

“So how do you know her?” The Cab driver asked for about the third time. When I didn’t respond right away he glanced at me through the rear view mirror, trying to make eye contact. I sighed.

                “I said…we’ve been friends for a long time, I’ve known her for years.”

                “Oh, I see.” He said with his Spanish accent, “Well she’s an amazing girl, you should know that then.”

                “yep.” Was all I could manage to say. I felt like I was being interviewed by her father, I didn’t come here for this. Glancing out the window, the always moving city flashed by. I smiled, this certainly was my scene.

                “We’re down the street from her apartment; you should probably text and tell her we’ll be there in about five minutes.” He advised.

                I did as he suggested then surveyed the neighborhood passing by. She didn’t exactly live in the good part of the city. This is where you hear about the murders and the rapists. When we pulled up in front of her building, she was waiting on the sidewalk, standing there leaning against the door. I knew it was her right when I laid eyes on her; her long black hair, perfectly straight, blew in the wind, her tight a*s pants and low-cut shirt showed off her appealing body. It could only be her. What can I say? I only have hot friends.

                When I stepped out of the cab I wrapped her in a hug, I felt like I was gunna crush her cuz she’s so damn skinny.

                “Nice to see you, Tommy.” She said, looking at me with those dark blue eyes. Damn. She thanked the cab driver for picking me up and before I could, she grabbed my luggage from the trunk and started walking inside.

                The building didn’t have an elevator so I followed her up four flights of worn-down stairs, not once did she slow down or ask for help with the luggage. She lived in apartment number 314, but I knew it was hers because the door was painted pink.

                “For real, Teagan?” I questioned, laughing. She just shot me the “don’t question me” look. Inside her apartment, it was small. I didn’t exactly expect much, but it was clean. She had a beaten-up couch in the living room with a crappy TV. The kitchen had seen better days. The walls had a tint of yellow in them, I’m sure at one point in time they were white.

                She set my luggage down near the couch and settled herself at the table where she began flipping through a book. “Make yourself at home, Tommy.  There’s one bed and one couch. You can either have the couch or share the bed with me.” She stated while she wrote something in a spiral. I glanced over, expecting her to have a sly smile on her face but she was busy reading. I collapsed on the couch, surprisingly it was very comfy.

                “watcha doing?” I asked her.

                “Homework. I have class tomorrow and work in twenty minutes, I gotta finish this.”

                “Sucks.” I replied as I reached for the remote and clicked on the TV. After about five minutes I realized she didn’t have cable. I was about to die when I flipped to another channel and there he was…Conan Obrien. Life was good again.

 

 

Teagan

                I spent the next twenty minutes reading Psychology. I was on my last page and my mind was completely scrambled. I glanced up and saw Tommy laid out on the couch, a huge grin on his face, watching TV. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing him made my heart flutter; he was completely gorgeous and knew it. That feeling quickly left, though, when I remembered Jake, my not so gorgeous beau. Sighing I closed the book and headed to the fridge and pulled out a beer for Tommy.

                “Here, Tommy,” I said, handing him the beer, “I’m going to work now, you can chill here if you want or come with me.”

                “Come with you?” He questioned, slightly surprised by the beer I handed him.

                “Yes, stay or come, I don’t really care, but make up your mind fast, I need to leave.” I said as I slipped on cute black heels and checked my hair in the mirror.

                “Where do you work?” he asked, confused.

 

Tommy

                “At the Corner Bar.” She simply stated, running her fingers through her hair, looking at the mirror hung on the backside of the door.

                “Wait…how old are you again?” I asked, very confused now. She turned and rolled her eyes at me while grabbing her purse simultaneously. She’s a fantastic multi-tasker. “But wait, I’m serious.” I called after her as I followed her out the door.

                “I’m 18, Tommy, I’m a waitress, calm down.” She explained, pulling the door shut behind me.

                “Aren’t you gunna lock it?” I asked, she was already halfway down the hall. She turned sighing;

                “No, it doesn’t lock. Now come on!” she turned and headed down the stairs. What’s the point in even questioning? They always get mad at me…

                She flew down the stairs, even in those obnoxious heels; it was hard to keep up with her. We had finally gotten to the bottom and were about to go out the door when three big black thug guys were coming in. they each looked Teagan up and down before they turned their attention on me. They were sizing me up; I could feel their eyes calculating every inch of my body. The biggest of the three smiled and turned back to Teagan. I guess I wasn’t that big of a threat.

                “The w***e’s got a new man, boys.” He sneered. The other two guys laughed along. Teagan didn’t miss a beat, though, she stood there, a smirk on her face.

                “Tommy’ s just a friend, Francisco. And if I’m a w***e, what does that make you…hmm? I’m not the one with herpes…” she simply stated, then brushed past them and out the door. I quickly followed.

                “You better watch yourself, b***h.” Francisco yelled after her.

                “Teagan,”  I began as I caught up with her, “they don’t look like good enemies to have.” I tried to explain. I just sounded stupid though.

                “Don’t worry about it, Tommy. Everyone else in the building loves me. You can’t exactly befriend people like Francisco anyways.” She responded as we pushed through the crowd. Man, I missed walking the streets of the city.

 

Teagan

                I took Tommy through the back entrance of the Corner Bar and introduced him to everyone I worked with. The girls loved him…of course. Mac, the bartender took a liking to him and promised him free drinks for the duration of his stay.

                I left Tommy at the bar in his care and headed to the back rooms to get changed. As I was slipping on my dress, Julie walked in.

                “You’re late.” I stated.

                “Nothing new. So how’s Tommy?” She asked, already half way changed into her dress.

                “Gorgeous as ever!” I laughed.

                “Well since I’m the single one, can I play with him?” She asked in her sultry voice. Julie has been my best friend for years; I love her to no end. We’re practically twins, we even look very similar. The main difference though between her and I, is that she’s the s**t, and she loves it.

                “No! Tommy is off-limits.” I explained.

                “ugh, you’re no fun,” She complained as she fixed her hair, “alright, time to dance, baby girl.”

 

 

Tommy

                Mac and I really hit it off, he’s a cool dude; gave me free beers and all. It was shaping out to be a good night. The attractive blond that just walked in chose the empty seat next to me with a flirty smile. That’s when the lights dimmed and music started blaring through a speaker system.  A spot light lit up a small stage I had failed to notice before. Mac leaned over the bar so I could hear him over the music;

                “Dude, this is what we’re famous for. Every hour our waitresses dance. You’ll love it, it’s pretty hot.” He explained with a smile.

                 A current up-beat song echoed through the bar. All eyes were on the stage as two girls in very short black dresses emerged. I lost my breath when I realized one of the girls was Teagan. They had started dancing but I was captivated by how incredible Teagan looked…her long skinny legs, tinted with a slight tan was enough to make any guy excited. The dress she wore showed a lot of cleavage that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. Her long, flowing black hair that fell messily around her shoulders drove me insane. I had to look away. I turned my attention to the girl dancing next to her. I was stunned, they looked identical; they wore matching dresses, the girl had the same long flowing ebony hair Teagan has, the same exact body figure, and the same sly smile. I’m  not exactly sure when I had made up my mind, but sometime before their dance ended I made it my goal to get that girl in bed before I went back to my home state. Hell, I couldn’t have Teagan, I’ll settle for her look-alike. The other waitresses danced but I had already turned my attention back to the blonde next to me.

 

 

Teagan

                “Did you see the way he looked at you?” Julie whispered as I walked past heading towards the kitchen.

                “Which guy?” I asked as she followed behind me.

                “Tommy, duhhh.” She explained as she grabbed the plates for her tables. I rolled my eyes as I reached for cups. “Oh, don’t give me that. You saw it too.”

                “And what about Jake?” I asked as I held the door for her.

                “Better not tell him.” She smiled slyly.

                The best part about working the restaurant is that around ten it starts emptying out as people head to the bar. Julie and I get a chance to talk as we clean empty tables.

                “So are you gunna tell me why you were late today?” I asked her as I sprayed down a table.

                “Well, you remember the new guy that moved into my building like a month ago?”

                I sat down. This clearly was not going to be a short story. “Mhmm.” I answered her.

                “okay well, he knocked on my door earlier this morning asking if I had any extra olive oil cuz he was trying to cook something. Like seriously, who does that? But oh my gawd! He was so cute!...”

                It’s not that I stopped listening at this part it’s just when I glanced over at the bar, I saw Tommy through the crowd talking up some blonde; he had a heart-throbbing smile on his face, his eyes focused on her every move. There was something stunning about watching him work; he was acutely aware of everyone around him, yet he made it seem as if she were the only one in the entire bar…and she fell for it! She was hanging off his every word. He casually glanced my way. We made eye contact. His smile was instantly replaced by something bigger…he smiled at me and his dimples showed. He raised his beer in acknowledgment.

 

 

Tommy

                She smiled; clearly embarrassed I caught her looking. She took a deep breath and tucked some hair behind her ear, her sheepish smile fading.

                I turned back to the blonde…whose name I can’t quite recall. I felt nothing when I looked at her. She batted those pretty blue eyes. Glancing over her shoulder I caught sight of Teagan again, no longer looking my way.

                “Let’s get outta here.” I said, grabbing the blonde’s hand and pulling her through the crowd. We walked right up to Teagan sitting at one of the tables talking to her look-alike friend. “Teagan, you get off at eleven?” I asked her, Blondie pressing closer to me. I watched as Teagan understood what I was really asking her. Her entire face fell; her eyes dimmed and widened, she glanced at the blond, then back to me before finally looking down. She scratched at something on the table before mumbling;

                “I get off at twelve. You know how to get back to the apartment?” She didn’t even look at me.

                “I think so.” I replied, a bit anxious to leave.

                “Give me your phone. I’ll put in Lupe’s number. Just call him and he’ll come and take you back to my place, okay?” she explained. I smirked when she mentioned Lupe, the cab driver. I guess it would be better than walking back. Handing her my phone, she quickly put in the number and handed it back, all without glancing up at me.

                “Can we leave?” The blond begged, pulling on my arm like an impatient child. As I turned to leave, Teagan grabbed my sleeve, her dark startling blue eyes locked into mine.

                “Wake me up when you get back to my place, so I know you made it back okay.” She whispered.